MISSION STATEMENT
We the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Scranton,
in union with our Holy Father, the Pope, are called
through baptism to share in the mission which Jesus
Christ has entrusted to the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church. Priests, deacons, religious and laity,
under the leadership of our Bishop, cooperate to
proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the teaching of
the Church, to celebrate the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, for the salvation of all, and to witness by
grace to the Kingdom of God so as to promote a culture
of life, justice and peace.
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to News Briefing |
This Issue:
|
| Welcome
to News Briefing |
| Parishes
To Evaluate Their Finances |
| Faithful
Set Record for Generosity |
Welcome to News Briefing |
Welcome to the
debut edition of the Diocese of Scranton News
Briefing. This electronic newsletter will be
emailed to Diocesan clergy, religious and
personnel as well as subscribers every three
weeks on Thursday, a week prior to publication
of The Catholic Light newspaper.
News Briefing
will contain items from the Bishop’s Office,
Diocesan Curia, Chancery and other sources in a
concise format to keep you informed about
significant developments that affect the Diocese
and the Church.
News Briefing
will be posted on the Diocesan website at
www.dioceseofscranton.org. People can subscribe
through the website. You may also forward this
email to anyone who might be interested in news
of the Diocese.
Thank you for
reading!
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Parishes To Evaluate Their Finances |
Parishes throughout
the Diocese of Scranton are preparing to
evaluate their current financial situation
through a process whereby pastors will
collaborate with advisory finance councils
comprised of laypersons.
Bishop Joseph F. Martino
has reminded pastors that both the Church’s
Code of Canon Law and the Statutes of the
Diocese of Scranton require that every parish
have an active, fully functioning finance
council. In addition to the fact that finance
councils are mandated, the Bishop said, “it is
equally important to understand that no parish
self-study, no realistic planning for the
Diocese can take place without the active
involvement of finance councils in all of our
parishes.”
Bishop Martino has asked
the Episcopal Vicars in the three pastoral
regions of the Diocese to work with all pastors
“to ensure that a finance council is
empanelled and empowered to do the important
work of advising pastors as together they
address the economic concerns of the parish.”
To aid the Vicars and
all pastors in the development and advancement
of finance councils in the Diocese, Bishop
Martino has issued directives that set forth the
standards by which the Vicars will judge the
effectiveness of a parish’s finance council.
Those directives emphasize that a parish finance
council is an advisory body and “its
decisions/recommendations are valid only when
accepted and ratified by the pastor.”
According to the
directives, the parish finance council will
assist the pastor in: preparing an annual budget
for the parish and its school, if there is one;
reviewing the implementation of the Diocesan
bookkeeping and accounting system for all parish
finances; ensuring that the Annual Financial
Report is prepared and submitted to the Diocese;
preparing and publishing an Annual Financial
Statement and Report for the parish council and
the members of the parish community; developing
procedures for the deposit of church funds in
interest-bearing checking and saving accounts in
accordance with Diocesan Statutes; evaluating
and making recommendations regarding church
support through the Sunday offertory and other
fund-raising activities; developing a plan for
the financing of necessary repairs, renovations
and equipment purchases; developing a plan for
systematic payment of any parish debt;
coordinating all fund-raising programs;
providing the parish council with periodic
reports (at least three times a year) on the
financial status of the parish; and helping the
pastor meet requirements for federal and state
taxes, insurance coverage, and all diocesan
policies relative to financial matters.
In addition, the Diocese
has produced a brochure that addresses questions
regarding the finances of the Diocese. According
to Bishop Martino, “There are many myths and
many misunderstandings regarding Diocesan
finances. It is my hope that the brochure will
aid all those who have questions about money
matters in the Diocese of Scranton to have a
better understanding of fiscal realities.”
The text of the brochure
will be published in the Oct. 6 issue of The
Catholic Light. This text, along with
documents regarding parish finance councils and
parish business managers, is also posted on the
Diocesan website at www.dioceseofscranton.org.
The Episcopal Vicars and
representatives of the Diocesan Finance Office
are working with pastors and their finance
council members to review the recent directives
and assist with the further development of the
councils. The meetings will take place Oct. 3 at
St. Joseph in Minooka (Scranton); Oct. 4, St.
Maria Goretti, Laflin; Oct. 6, St. Vincent de
Paul, Milford; Oct. 11, Bishop Hafey High
School, Hazleton; Oct. 12, SS. Peter and Paul,
Towanda; Oct. 13, Ascension, Williamsport; Oct.
17, St. Maria Goretti, Laflin; and Oct. 19, St.
Luke, Stroudsburg. |
Faithful Set Record for Generosity |
Faithful in the
Diocese of Scranton have supported the Hurricane
Katrina relief efforts with record-breaking
generosity.
To date, a total
of $861,403 has been contributed. That includes
$811,962 from the special collection that Bishop
Joseph F. Martino asked all parishes to take up,
and $49,441 raised by Diocesan Catholic schools.
This is the
largest amount ever collected for a special
endeavor such as the hurricane disaster. The
previous record was set just a few months ago,
when parishes and schools raised more than
$665,000 to aid the victims of the tsunami in
the Indian Ocean. Prior to that, the largest
special collection was $510,198 following the
9/11 attacks in 2001.
This overwhelming
response is typical of the concern demonstrated
by the good people of our Diocese, even as their
own expenses for gasoline and other necessities
continue to rise.
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